{{Short description|Small hand-propelled vehicle}}
{{About|the small hand-propelled vehicle|the remotely controlled vehicle used in bomb disposal|Wheelbarrow (robot)|the aviation risk|Wheel-barrowing}}
[[Image:2008-07-15 Construction wheelbarrow at Duke.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A common wheelbarrow]]

A '''wheelbarrow''' is a small hand-propelled load-bearing vehicle, usually with just one [[wheel]], designed to be pushed and guided by a single person using two handles at the rear. The term "wheelbarrow" is made of two words: "wheel" and "barrow." "[[Handbarrow|Barrow]]" is a derivation of the Old English "barew" which was a device used for carrying loads.

The wheelbarrow is designed to distribute the weight of its load between the wheel and the operator, so enabling the convenient carriage of heavier and bulkier loads than would be possible were the weight carried entirely by the operator. As such it is a [[Lever#Classes of levers|second-class lever]]. Traditional Chinese wheelbarrows, however, had a central wheel supporting the whole load. Use of wheelbarrows is common in the [[construction]] industry and in [[gardening]]. Typical capacity is approximately {{Convert|100|L|cuft|2|abbr=off}} of material.

A two-wheel type is more stable on level ground, while the almost universal one-wheel type has better [[maneuverability]] in small spaces, on planks, in water, or when tilted ground would throw the load off balance. The use of one wheel also permits greater control of the deposition of the load upon emptying.

==History==
===China===
[[File:Wine shop, China, collected at Yihe, Pehgzhou City, Eastern Han dynasty, 25-220 AD, tomb tile - Sichuan Provincial Museum - Chengdu, China - DSC04779.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Han dynasty]] tomb brick showing a wheelbarrow]]

The earliest wheelbarrows with archaeological evidence in the form of a one-wheel cart come from second-century [[Han dynasty]] [[Emperor Hui of Han|Emperor Hui]]'s (d. 188 BC) tomb [[mural]]s and brick tomb [[relief]]s.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 263 267">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 263-267.</ref> The painted tomb mural of a man pushing a wheelbarrow was found in a tomb at [[Chengdu]], [[Sichuan]] province, dated precisely to 118 AD.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 265">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 265.</ref> The stone carved relief of a man pushing a wheelbarrow was found in the tomb of Shen Fujun in [[Sichuan province]], dated circa 150 AD.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 264-265">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 264-265.</ref> And then there is the story of the pious [[Dong Yuan (Han dynasty)|Dong Yuan]] pushing his father around in a single-wheel {{translit|zh|luche}} barrow, depicted in a mural of the Wu Liang tomb-shrine of [[Shandong]] (dated to AD{{nbsp}}147).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 263">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 263.</ref> Earlier accounts dating to the 1st century BC and 1st century AD that mention a "deer cart" ({{lang|zh|{{linktext|鹿車}}}}, {{translit|zh|luche}}) might also have been referencing a wheelbarrow.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 265"/>

The 5th-century ''[[Book of Later Han]]'' stated that the wife of the once poor and youthful [[Censorate|imperial censor]] [[Bao Xuan]] helped him push a ''lu che'' back to his village during their feeble wedding ceremony, around 30 BC.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 265"/> Later, during the [[Chimei|Red Eyebrows Rebellion]] (c. 20 AD) against [[Xin dynasty]]'s [[Wang Mang]] (45 BC&ndash;23 AD), the official [[Zhao Xi]] saved his wife from danger by disguising himself and pushing her along in his ''lu che'' barrow, past a group of [[Outlaw|brigand]] rebels who questioned him, and allowed him to pass after he convinced them that his wife was terribly ill.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 265"/> The first recorded description of a wheelbarrow appears in [[Liu Xiang (scholar)|Liu Xiang]]'s work ''[[Biographies of the Immortals|Lives of Famous Immortals]]''. Liu describes the invention of the wheelbarrow by the legendary Chinese mythological figure Ko Yu, who builds a "[[Wooden ox]]".<ref>{{Cite book |title=Chronology of Science |url=https://archive.org/details/factsonfilechron00reze |url-access=limited |last= Rezende |first= Lisa |publisher=Checkmark Books |year=2007 |isbn=978-0816071197 |publication-date=April 1, 2007 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/factsonfilechron00reze/page/n50 40]}}</ref>

Nevertheless, the Chinese historical text of the ''[[Records of the Three Kingdoms|Sanguozhi]]'' (Records of the [[Three Kingdoms]]), compiled by the ancient historian [[Chen Shou]] (233&ndash;297 AD), credits the invention of the wheelbarrow to Prime Minister [[Zhuge Liang]] (181&ndash;234 AD) of [[Shu Han]] from 197&ndash;234.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 259 260">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 259-260.</ref> It was written that in 231 AD, Zhuge Liang developed the vehicle of the [[wooden ox]] and used it as a transport for military supplies in a campaign against [[Cao Wei]].<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 260">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 260.</ref>

====Centrally mounted wheel====
[[Image:Qingming Festival Detail 7.jpg|thumb|The one-wheeled Chinese wheelbarrow, from [[Zhang Zeduan]]'s (1085&ndash;1145) painting ''[[Along the River During Qingming Festival]]'', [[Song dynasty]].]]
[[File:Woman seated in wheelbarrow pushed by men LCCN2004707920.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A wheelbarrow [[rickshaw]] under the [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] <small>(1895)</small>]]

Further annotations of the text by [[Pei Songzhi]] (430 AD) described the design in detail as a large single central wheel and [[axle]] around which a wooden frame was constructed in representation of an ox.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 260"/> Writing later in the 11th century, the [[Song dynasty]] (960&ndash;1279) scholar Gao Cheng wrote that the small wheelbarrow of his day, with shafts pointing forward (so that it was pulled), was the direct descendant of Zhuge Liang's wooden ox.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 262">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 262.</ref>  Furthermore, he pointed out that the third century 'gliding horse' wheelbarrow featured the simple difference of the shaft pointing backwards (so that it was pushed instead).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 262"/>

Wheelbarrows in China came in two types. The more common type after the third century has a large, centrally mounted wheel. Prior types were universally front-wheeled wheelbarrows.<ref name="M. J. T. Lewis, p.453">M. J. T. Lewis, p.473</ref> The central-wheeled wheelbarrow could generally transport six human passengers at once, and instead of a laborious amount of energy exacted upon the animal or human driver pulling the wheelbarrow, the weight of the burden was distributed equally between the wheel and the puller.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 258 259">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 258-259.</ref> European visitors to China from the 17th century onwards had an appreciation for this, and it was given a considerable amount of attention by a member of the [[Dutch East India Company]], [[Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest]], in his writings of 1797 (who accurately described its design and ability to hold large amounts of heavy baggage).<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 259">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 259.</ref> These wheelbarrows continued in use into the twentieth century, and a good example of this is the 'Piepkar', which is a wheelbarrow on rails, and was found in Sumatra on Billiton Island.<ref name="Sailing wheelbarrows in 20th C">{{cite web|last1=De Decker|first1=Kris|title=How to Downsize a Transport Network: The Chinese Wheelbarrow|url=https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/12/the-chinese-wheelbarrow.html|website=lowtechmagazine.com|date=29 December 2011 }}</ref> However, the lower carrying surface made the European wheelbarrow clearly more useful for short-haul work.<ref>Andrea L. Matthies, p.363</ref> As of the 1960s, traditional wheelbarrows in China were still in wide use.<ref>Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, vol. 4, Physics and Physical Technology, pt. 2, Mechanical Engineering (Cambridge, 1965), p. 272</ref>

====Chinese sailing carriage====
[[Image:Sail assisted wheelbarrows (2).jpg|thumb|Wheelbarrows near [[Xi'an]], c.1905 by Baptist missionary John Shields]]
Although there are records of Chinese [[sailing carriage]]s from the 6th century<ref>
{{harvnb|Needham|1965|pp=274–6}}
</ref> these [[land sailing]] vehicles were not wheelbarrows, and the date of which the sail assisted wheelbarrow was invented is uncertain.<ref>Temple (1986) Page 195.</ref> Engravings are found in van Braam Houckgeest's 1797 book.<ref>
{{cite book|author=A.E. van Braam Houckgeest|title=An Authentic account of the Embassy of the Dutch East India Company to...China|year=1797}} quoted in Temple 1985, p196
</ref>

European interest in the Chinese sailing carriage is also seen in the writings of [[Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest]] in 1797, who wrote:

<blockquote>Near the southern border of [[Shandong]] one finds a kind of wheelbarrow much larger than that which I have been describing, and drawn by a [[horse]] or a [[mule]]. But judge by my surprise when today I saw a whole [[Fishing fleet|fleet]] of wheelbarrows of the same size. I say, with deliberation, a fleet, for each of them had a sail, mounted on a small mast exactly fixed in a socket arranged at the forward end of the barrow. The sail, made of matting, or more often of cloth, is {{convert|5|or|6|feet|cm|0|spell=in}} high, and {{convert|3|or|4|feet|cm|0|spell=in}} broad, with stays, sheets, and [[halyard]]s, just as on a [[Junk (ship)|Chinese ship]]. The sheets join the shafts of the wheelbarrow and can thus be manipulated by the man in charge.<ref name="needham volume 4 part 2 274">Needham, Volume 4, Part 2, 274.</ref></blockquote>

=== Ancient Greece and Rome ===
M. J. T. Lewis surmised the wheelbarrow may have existed in [[ancient Greece]] in the form of a one-wheel [[cart]].<ref>M. J. T. Lewis, p.470ff.</ref> Two building material inventories for 408/407 and 407/406 B.C. from the temple of [[Eleusis]] list, among other machines and tools, "1 body for a one-wheeler ({{lang|grc|hyperteria monokyklou}})",<ref>M. J. T. Lewis, p.472&475</ref> although there is no evidence to prove this hypothesis.<ref name="The Classical World 2006">''The Classical World'', by Robin Lane Fox, Penguin (2006)</ref> ({{lang|grc|ὑπερτηρία μονοκύκλου}} in [[Ancient Greek|Greek]]):

<blockquote>Since {{lang|grc|dikyklos}} ({{lang|grc|δίκυκλος}}) and {{lang|grc|tetrakyklos}} ({{lang|grc|τετράκυκλος}}) mean nothing but "two-wheeler" and "four-wheeler," and since the {{lang|grc|monokyklos}} ({{lang|grc|μονόκυκλος}}) body is sandwiched in the Eleusis inventory between a four-wheeler body and its four wheels, to take it as anything but a one-wheeler strains credulity far beyond breaking point. It can only be a wheelbarrow, necessarily guided and balanced by a man...what does now emerge as certainty is that the wheelbarrow did not, as is universally claimed, make its European debut in the [[Middle Ages]]. It was there some sixteen centuries before.</blockquote>

M. J. T. Lewis admits that the current consensus among technology historians, including [[Bertrand Gille (historian)|Bertrand Gille]], Andrea Matthies, and [[Joseph Needham]], is that the wheelbarrow was invented in China around 100 AD and spread to the rest of world.<ref>M. J. T. Lewis, p.453</ref> However, Lewis proposes that the wheelbarrow could have also existed in [[ancient Greece]].<ref name="M. J. T. Lewis, p.453"/><ref>M. J. T. Lewis, p.470.</ref> Based on the Eleusis list, Lewis states that it is possible that wheelbarrows were used on Greek construction sites, but admits that evidence for the wheelbarrow in ancient farming and mining is absent.<ref name="M. J. T. Lewis, p.453"/> He surmised that wheelbarrows were not uncommon on Greek construction sites for carrying moderately light loads. He speculates the possibility of wheelbarrows in the Roman Empire and the later Eastern Roman, or Byzantine Empire, although Lewis concludes that the evidence is scarce, and that "most of this scenario, perforce, is pure speculation."<ref>M. J. T. Lewis, p.475</ref> The 4th century [[Historia Augusta]] reports emperor [[Elagabalus]] to have used a wheelbarrow ({{langx|la|pabillus}} from {{lang|la|pabo}}, one-wheeled vehicle<ref>Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, 1879: [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=pabo Pabo] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205044440/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=pabo |date=2016-12-05 }}</ref><ref>Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, 1879: [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=pabillus Pabillus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722013823/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=pabillus |date=2013-07-22 }}</ref>) to transport women in his frivolous games at court.<ref>Historia Augusta: [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Elagabalus/2*.html#29 The Life of Elagabalus, Part 2, 29] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240201005339/http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Historia_Augusta/Elagabalus/2%2A.html#29 |date=2024-02-01 }}</ref> While the present evidence does not indicate any use of wheelbarrows into medieval times, the question of continuity in the [[Byzantine Empire]] is still open, due to a lack of research yet.<ref name="M. J. T. Lewis, p.453"/> Currently, there is no evidence for the wheelbarrow in ancient Greece and Rome.<ref name="The Classical World 2006"/>

===Medieval Europe===
[[File:Wheelbarrow of 1537 - Stadtmuseum Ingolstadt I.7089 - right- DSC 3000.jpg|thumb|Europe's oldest surviving wheelbarrow, from Ingolstadt, ca. 1537]]
The first wheelbarrows in [[medieval Europe]] appeared sometime between 1170 and 1250. In contrast to the ones which typically have a wheel in the center of the barrow and were preferred in China, the types mostly used in Europe featured a wheel at or near the front,<ref>M. J. T. Lewis, pp.453-55</ref> the arrangement of most wheelbarrows today.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Research on the early history of the wheelbarrow is made difficult by the marked absence of a common terminology. The historian of technology M.J.T. Lewis has identified in English and French sources four mentions of wheelbarrows between 1172 and 1222, three of them designated with a different term.<ref>M. J. T. Lewis, p.463</ref> According to the medieval art historian Andrea Matthies, the first archival reference to a wheelbarrow in medieval Europe is dated 1222, specifying the purchase of several wheelbarrows for the English king's works at [[Dover]].<ref>Andrea L. Matthies, p.357</ref> The first depiction appears in an English manuscript, Matthew Paris's ''[[Vitae duorum Offarum]]'', completed in 1250.<ref>Andrea L. Matthies, p.358 <br> The often held view that a wheelbarrow shows up in a stained-glass window at Chartres soon after 1200 is according to Lewis "a myth. There is none. The nearest approach is a handbarrow." (M.J.T. Lewis, p.463)</ref>

By the 13th century, the wheelbarrow proved useful in building construction, mining operations, and agriculture. However, going by surviving documents and illustrations the wheelbarrow remained a relative rarity until the 15th century.<ref>M. J. T. Lewis, p.456</ref> It also seemed to be limited to [[England]], [[France]], and the [[Low Countries]].<ref>Andrea L. Matthies, p.358</ref>

The oldest wheelbarrows preserved from Central Europe were found in 2014 and 2017 during [[Excavation (archaeology)|archaeological excavations]] in [[Ingolstadt]], Germany. The felling dates of the trees that make up the wheelbarrow boards could be [[Dendrochronology|dendrochronologically]] dated to 1537 for one wheelbarrow and the 1530s for the other.<ref>{{Citation
 | last1 =Schönauer
 | first1 =Tobias
 | last2 =Hohrath
 | first2 =Daniel
 | title =Forms Of War 1600-1815
 | place =Ingolstadt
 | publisher =Ph.C.W. Schmid
 | series =Cataogues of Bayerisches Armeemuseum
 | volume =19
 | year =2019
 | chapter =Wheelbarrow
 | page =193
 | isbn =978-3-96049-079-1
 | chapter-url =https://www.armeemuseum.de/images/publikationen/2020_Forms_of_War_online.pdf
 | access-date =2020-11-26
 | archive-date =2020-12-03
 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20201203171729/http://armeemuseum.de/images/publikationen/2020_Forms_of_War_online.pdf
 | url-status =live
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last1 = Ingolstadt | first1 = Stadt | url = https://www.ingolstadt.de/Home/Die-erste-Schubkarre-der-alten-Schanzer.php?object=tx,2789.5&ModID=7&FID=3052.11343.1&NavID=2789.411 | title = Die erste Schubkarre der alten Schanzer - Ein außergewöhnlicher Fund vom Gießereigelände | website = Actual News | publisher = City of Ingolstadt | access-date = 2019-04-15 | language = de |trans-title = The first wheelbarrow of the old Schanzer - an unusual find from the cannon foundry site }}</ref>

===Modern wheelbarrows===
[[File:Ministry of Information First World War Official Collection Q31235.jpg|thumb|A [[gravedigger]] pushing a wheelbarrow, {{circa|1918}}]]
[[File:Ministry of Information First World War Official Collection Q28363.jpg|thumb|Workers transporting limestone blocks at a cement factory during World War&nbsp;I]]
[[File:Brouette Vespa.jpg|thumb|A [[novelty]] wheelbarrow designed to resemble a [[Vespa]] scooter]]
Modern day wheelbarrows are generally made from plastic or metal<ref name="What Wheelbarrows are made from">{{cite web |last1=Moore |first1=Patricia |title=Plastic Vs. Steel Wheelbarrow: Which Should Be Your Best Choice? |url=https://gardenever.com/plastic-vs-steel-wheelbarrow/ |website=Gardenever|date=28 January 2019 }}</ref> and generally come with either a [[Tire|pneumatic tire, semi-pneumatic tire, or solid tire]]. Modern wheelbarrows come in four standard shapes, the home gardener shallow-tray variety, the builder's barrow, the square tray utility barrow<ref name="Shapes of wheelbarrows">{{cite web |title=Wheelbarrows |url=https://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/fact-sheets/in-the-garden/gardening-tips-books-techniques-and-tools/wheelbarrows/ |website=Burkes Backyard|date=19 September 2013 }}</ref> and the brick barrow.<ref name="Brickbarrow Shape">{{cite web |title=Moss Wheelbarrows |url=http://www.mossbarrows.com.au/products.html |website=Moss Wheelbarrows |date=10 June 2024 |access-date=10 September 2021 |archive-date=11 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211185336/http://mossbarrows.com.au/products.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Plastic wheelbarrows can be beneficial as they are light in weight reducing physical demand on the user. But plastic wheelbarrows are also suited to lighter loads.<ref name="Plastic and metal wheelbarrow">{{cite web |last1=Osmond |first1=Candace |title=Plastic vs Steel Wheelbarrows - Which is best? |url=https://www.backyardboss.net/wheelbarrow-plastic-vs-steel/ |website=Backyard Boss |date=7 June 2017 |access-date=7 June 2017}}</ref>

Steel wheel barrows can handle heavier loads with carrying capacities of up to {{cvt|110|L|cuft|0}} wet, or {{cvt|160|L|cuft|0}} dry.<ref name="Load capacity of steel wheelbarrows">{{cite web |title=Moss Wheelbarrow – Premier Heavy Duty |url=https://canberradiamondblade.com.au/product/premier-wheel-barrow-moss/ |website=Canberra Diamond Blade}}</ref> Steel wheelbarrows more effectively transport heavy, jagged material without damaging the wheelbarrow and are often better suited to construction applications.<ref name="Suitability of metal wheelbarrows to construction">{{cite web |title=Tips for Choosing the Best Wheelbarrow |url=https://canberradiamondblade.com.au/tips-choosing-best-wheelbarrow/ |website=Canberra Diamond Blade |date=3 March 2023 |access-date=10 September 2021 |archive-date=10 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910042223/https://canberradiamondblade.com.au/tips-choosing-best-wheelbarrow/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Modern variations===
[[File:Black wheelbarrow.jpg|thumb|A black wheelbarrow]]
In the 1970s, British inventor [[James Dyson]] introduced the [[Ballbarrow]], an injection-molded plastic wheelbarrow with a spherical ball on the front end instead of a wheel.  Compared to a conventional design, the larger surface area of the ball made the wheelbarrow easier to use in soft soil, and more laterally stable with heavy loads on uneven ground.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Power-assisted wheelbarrows are now widely available from a number of different manufacturers.  Powered wheelbarrows are used in a range of applications; the technology has improved to enable them to take much heavier loads, beyond weights that a human could transport alone without assistance.  Motorized wheelbarrows are generally either diesel powered or electric battery powered.  Often used in small-scale construction applications where access for larger plant machinery might be restricted.{{cn|date=April 2026}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=23em}}
* [[Cart]]
* [[Dolly (trailer)|Dolly]]
* [[Flatbed trolley]]
* [[Hand truck]]
* [[Hand barrow|Handbarrow]]
* [[Wheelbarrow race]]
* [[Wheelbarrow Olympics]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Lewis |first=M. J. T. |date=1994 |title=The Origins of the Wheelbarrow |journal=Technology and Culture |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=453–475 |doi=10.2307/3106255|jstor=3106255 |s2cid=147546781 }}
* Andrea L. Matthies, "The Medieval Wheelbarrow," ''Technology and Culture'', Vol. 32, No. 2, Part 1. (Apr., 1991), pp.&nbsp;356–364
* {{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|author-link=Joseph Needham|title=Science and Civilisation in China|volume=4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering|year=1965|publisher=Caves Books Ltd|location=Taipei}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons category|Wheelbarrows}}
* [http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/wheelbarrow.html The Wheelbarrow] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060110020405/http://scholar.chem.nyu.edu/tekpages/wheelbarrow.html |date=2006-01-10 }}, The Medieval Technology Pages.
* [http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/12/the-chinese-wheelbarrow.html How to Downsize a Transport Network: The Chinese Wheelbarrow], Low-Tech Magazine.

{{Human-powered vehicles}}
{{Garden tools}}

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[[Category:Chinese inventions]]
[[Category:Gardening tools]]
[[Category:Hand barrows]]
[[Category:Construction equipment]]